Unbelievable
by Question Mark Hatman
Summary: Rei sits at a table, drinks a cup of coffee, watches the sunset, and muses about his life.


Author's note : LIFT THIS, HAIRSPRAY! (hits with paperweight)  
  
Oh, and it's an introspective piece on Rei.  
  
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Unbelievable (Alternate Title : A Cup of Coffee)  
  
by Igatona  
  
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I guess I have come a long way.  
  
From a small village in northern China, to be more precise.  
  
Now, I'm travelling the world, having beyblade matches with my friends and teammates and missing my family. You know, sometimes, it feels good to just meditate on your life around a cup of coffee in the morning, just looking at the dawn of a new day, before everyone's up and running at speeds which exceed my comprehension. I can understand why speed is important in beyblading, but why is it so important in the modern world? Maybe that by doing things faster, you have more time for your hobbies, but what good is it if you burn out like a candle at the end of the day, enough that you don't have the energy to do much of anything else?  
  
It's not good at all, now is it?  
  
Oh, yeah, if you're wondering why I'm drinking coffee, it's because the tea here tastes horrible. I'm not one to complain when tea tastes horrible, but when it's this bad, I take coffee instead. Besides, I need to wake up anyway, and coffee's the better drink to do that.  
  
Yep, it sure feels good to be the only one sitting at the table near the window. Sometimes, in moments like these, I like to look back at my life, what happened, what made me into what I am today. It's actually interesting when you look at it in an objective manner.  
  
I was born in that small village in northern China, and I had friends among the local children, Kiki (we really need to get him another nickname), Mao, Gao (I need to ask him his first name again, because I'm not a name person...even if it was someone I spent the majority of my childhood with), Lei and a couple of others whom I couldn't remember if I tried. We had fun back then. There was no real reason to teach us anything in particular, and when they introduced beyblading, well, it was another way to have fun. Plus, when not beyblading, they were teaching us kung-fu. If you were wondering why we of the White Tigers were able to jump that high, it was because of that particular martial art training.  
  
Oh, and before you ask, I've forgotten many things. So did Lei, and Mao, and Gao and Kiki. As much as we wanted to remember, beyblading took precedence, especially when we had the mighty Driger to live up to.  
  
That was one of the reasons I went away. When everything came down, and the decision was made. I was the one who was chosen to fight alongside Driger. The White Tiger, the spirit of our clan. Everyone told me he was the mightiest, everyone told me he was the best. Since then, I've proven that Driger was most definitely not the mightiest bit-beast, but he was powerful in his own right. Loyal and protective too, and those are always definitive pluses. Driger's one of the reasons why I left. I wanted to know if he was that powerful, that good. Now I know that he was. The second reason as to why I left was that I wanted to learn. Some might make jokes about cat curiosity, but that's just how I was back then, inquisitive. I still am today though. I guess people don't change much over time...or at least, I don't.  
  
So, I left, I didn't think I should have left them a message, but now I know the value of telling other people where you go, and especially why you're going. Maybe this whole situation with the White Tigers could have been avoided.  
  
Then again, the battle between Lei and I was inevitable. If not at the China Tower, then at someplace else. I'm just glad I was the one that came out on top. I showed him that opening yourself to other tactics than the one you have been handed down is one of the keys to success. Maybe not in real life, but in beyblade, it's probably one of the most important assets one can have.  
  
Then again, maybe that's why I went away. So that Lei and I could finally battle.  
  
As far as this key to success is concerned, if we are speaking culturally, then I guess it's not that great. I don't know much about the details, but while it's good to open yourself to other cultures, you must never forget where you come from. I know I didn't. That's why I came back to the village after healing from my injuries back in Russia. The team had no reason to stay together, and quite frankly, I missed the friends I had back home.  
  
My reinsertion into the society went smoothly. Especially since I was offering to teach the kids how to beyblade, and tricks I had learned in Europe and America. Why not Japan? Because often, people from Japan would come to compete in national tournaments, so we did like good students and already picked up on their tricks.  
  
I could swear there was more coffee than that in my cup. Ah well, if the sun wasn't so beautiful right now, I'd get up and get some more. Maybe after the show.  
  
Speaking of a show, I remember when we won the World Championships, a lot of people wanted to ask Takao and Kai questions. Some more considerate people asked Max and I when they realized that Takao can't answer anything properly, and that Kai wouldn't open his mouth for anything. I was a tad tired, and in pain, from my experiences in Russia, but I answered nonetheless.  
  
I guess the question that still haunts me to this day is : "Why do you beyblade?"  
  
At least a thousand people must have asked me this question, and when I looked at them, and told them that I didn't know, that I guessed it was something that I was put on the Earth to do. They all thought I was lying.  
  
They could see past it, but since I didn't want to break out a long explanation, that was the answer I had to give them. I beyblade for so many reasons. First of all, I enjoy it. It is probably one of the hobbies with the most elements of strategy I can ever see, and there's always competition around if you're in need of it. Plus, unless you face off against psychotic ruskies, you can't really get hurt. What more would you want?  
  
But ultimately, I knew that wasn't what they meant. They meant "Why do you beyblade professionally?"  
  
Now that was the true question. Why would anyone spend so much time devoting themselves to what's considered a kid's hobby?  
  
That's the thing. When you start beyblading professionally, a lot of things change. The stakes get higher, the competition is ruthless and it becomes a whole new game. It's no longer about having fun. It's about standing at the top of the ladder. A lot of people can't take that kind of pressure and end up quitting. It takes a special mindset to participate in natioanl tournaments.  
  
Or just blissful innocence like Takao, but that's another story entierly. Reminds me that I've spent so much time with Takao, and still I don't understand him. I want to understand his motives, what drives him to do this instead of anything else. I want to know, because maybe, when he tells me, I'll be able to know myself better.  
  
Heh, that doesn't make sense, asking someone else to explain what they are to know yourself.  
  
I guess what's common with top-level beybladers is that ultimately, we all do this to find an answer. An answer to what plagues our minds.  
  
What drove Lei to become better was vengeance against me. What drove Takao to become better was that he was looking for the answer to overcoming adversity.  
  
What is the question I need to answer? What kind of task is set before me so that I need to improve myself, and why, even after almost dying in a match, do I continue?  
  
I don't know.  
  
There's lots of things I don't know. That's why I continue beyblading.  
  
Because maybe, when I get to the top of the ladder (there are so many beybladers out there, I don't know if I ever will), I will get a question and the answer to it.  
  
Maybe I won't find anything at all.  
  
What I do know is that, tonight, I'll step in front of the beyblade dish again.  
  
Because the view from there is...  
  
Unbelievable.  
  
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Okay...major OOCness. Expect flames much if reading reviews. 


End file.
